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UK campaigners to challenge assisted suicide policy

Wednesday, 29 April 2015 5:11 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 29 April 2015 5:12 PM ]

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New rules on assisted suicide policy in England and Wales have been “liberalized” according to disability rights campaigners in Britain.

The advocates have been granted permission to review and challenge amendments introduced last October by the director of public prosecutions, Alison Saunders.

The Suicide Act now makes it harder to prosecute or charge healthcare professionals involved in cases of assisted suicide, making it easier for the practice to take place.

Campaigners, such as Nikki Kenward say the changes are unconstitutional. Nikki, who is fighting the policy with her partner Merv and suffers from Guillain-Barre syndrome said “the message from these new guidelines is that society thinks you are in the way. The best thing you can do is to agree to die.”

The couple's lawyers say that doctors who assist suicide are now “much likelier to escape responsibility for their crimes”.

Andrea Minichiello Williams, Barrister and chief executive officer of the Christian Legal Centre, said "the DPP has overstepped the mark in liberalizing the law on assisted suicide.”

“The DPP’s jurisdiction is in applying the law. In this case, she is making law as opposed to applying it and in so doing she is acting outside the bounds of her jurisdiction. It amounts to a unilateral change in the law without recourse to parliament.”

“Alison Saunders’ guidance will enable healthcare professionals operating on an ideological or other premise to offer their services to a person wishing to commit suicide … this is crossing the Rubicon. It will make any prohibition on a Dignitas-style of assisted suicide difficult to resist,” she added.

A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said that “following the judgment by the Supreme Court in the case of AM, the DPP was invited to clarify the factor in favour of prosecution where the suspect is a healthcare professional."

"This clarification was made as a direct result of the Supreme Court judgment and did not amend the law in any way; assisting or encouraging suicide remains illegal and nothing in the guidelines offers immunity against prosecution.”

SU/PHX

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